“Well, I don’t think he’d mind if I had a brown-haired dolly.” The logic of her reasoning wasn’t lost on him. “I think he’d be okay with that, actually.”
He’d never really noticed that her dolls were all light-haired. A couple were from her early years, and several were more recent gifts, but she was right. Every one of them was pale and blond- or copper-haired. Clearly he and his parents thought alike, but that was shortsighted. Her playthings should have diversity, shouldn’t they? To reflect the real world?
He set up Addie with a juice box and crackers in the front room, then arranged for the conference call in the adjacent office. He made a note to check out the doll situation when he had time, then refocused his attention on dock-building bids. For the moment, Addie would have to get by with what she had with her, and she was such an easygoing child, he was sure that would be just fine.
* * *
“You never told anyone about the attack?” She’d surprised Drew Slade, Josie realized less than two hours later, and a man who used to be top security for the current president of the United States didn’t surprise easily. “Josie, why not? They could have helped you. They still could,” he added firmly.
Fear and shame had held her tongue seven years ago. She clenched her hands in her lap and wondered how all of her careful reasoning had come to this. “I wasn’t on the best terms with my family when I went to Louisiana.”
“How so?”
“Kimberly never told you?” That made her feel better, somehow. Not that she wanted Kimberly to keep secrets from Drew, but she was glad her stupid mistakes hadn’t become gossip fodder.
Drew shook his head.
“I messed up in college. Big-time. I cut loose, and partied with all the wrong people after my Dad died. I flunked out midway through my sophomore year and became a bitter disappointment to the Gallagher clan.”
“We all make mistakes,” Drew replied. “I’m a card-carrying member of Alcoholics Anonymous myself, so I hear you. But I don’t get what one has to do with the other.”
“I embarrassed my family, and they worked hard to help me get straightened out,” she told him. “Counseling, rehab and a job. They stuck by me despite what I did. When I decided I wanted to work the barbecue circuit in the Deep South, my mother and aunts tried to talk me out of it because there’s plenty of temptation in New Orleans. For a barbecue cook, though, it is the place to be if you want to learn all the aspects of good Southern cooking.”
“You moved down there anyway.”
She sighed. “Even though they asked me not to. New Orleans is too wild, they said. My mother begged me to stay home, or to go to some other Southern city, but anyone who is anyone in the barbecue business does a stint in New Orleans. And I was stubborn.”
Drew’s grunt indicated he understood that part well enough. Of course, he was married to a Gallagher, so he had firsthand experience.
“I was there for over two years with no problems, and learning all kinds of things. I got a chance to work with Big Bobby and Tuck Fletcher and Cajun Mary, so I learned from the best. And then this guy shows up—he starts flirting with me and it’s all in fun.” She frowned and gripped her knees tighter. “He seemed so normal, and I’d let my radar down because I’d been on the straight-and-narrow path for a long time. I’d forgotten how slick some guys can be. He was going to meet me for dinner, but then he called and said his car stalled near the parking lot of my apartment complex and it would be a while for them to tow it. Could he come up and wait? I said sure.” She bit her lip, remembering. “He slipped something into my glass of tea. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone.”
Drew didn’t just look mad. He looked furious. “Why didn’t you call it in? The guy’s a criminal.”
If Josie could have tucked her chin any deeper into her shirt, she would have, but it was impossible. “I couldn’t face those inquiries. And if they caught him and brought him to trial, then I’d have to face how stupid I was in college. They bring up everything, you know. They’d have brought up my past, and made it public knowledge. They shouldn’t, but they do.” She raised her eyes and faced Drew candidly. “I couldn’t go through all that again. I’d come so far. I just wanted to put it behind me. For the whole stupid thing to be over.”
“But it wasn’t.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. She dashed it away, but not before another one joined the first. “Three weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant.”
Drew had been jotting things down. He stopped.
“I had a little girl no one knows about. Her name is Addie. Adeline,” she added. “I worked with a very nice agency down there. I was determined that my child would have the best possible chance at life. I wanted her to grow up untarnished by the circumstances surrounding her creation. No child deserves to have that kind of baggage weighing them down, do they?”
“No. Of course not. The agency arranged everything?”
She nodded. “I wanted a closed adoption so I wouldn’t be tempted to check up on things, but I said I could be contacted for life-and-death situations. Two and a half years later, I was contacted by the adoptive mother, Ginger O’Neill. Addie had tumors on her liver. She needed a transplant and they couldn’t find a good match. They tested me and I was a match. I pretended I was taking a winter vacation from the restaurant. I flew to Emory, had the procedure done and saved Addie’s life.”
“All with no one knowing what was going on. That must have been incredibly difficult to go through alone.” Drew sat back. “You’re an amazing woman, Josie.”
She held up her hands, palms out, to stop him from saying more. “I did what any mother would do. But here’s the problem, Drew. The project manager for the Carrington Hotel going up next door? He has my daughter with him.”
“Here?”
Josie nodded, grimly “He came over here today to offer advice, and Addie climbed out of his car.”
“A lot of kids look alike, Josie.”
She handed over her phone with the obituary page highlighted. “Her mother died. Her adoptive father is out of the picture, but I don’t know how or why. This uncle, Jacob Weatherly, has my daughter with him and I need to know what’s going on because a child isn’t like a piece of real estate. They’re not a commodity to be bargained with or handed around. They’re people, and the deal I struck with the adoption agency and the O’Neills has been broken.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, here.”
She stuck out her chin, stubborn as ever.
“Once an adoption is finalized, it’s done. So if something happened to the parents, then they have the right to assign a guardian in their absence. Are you worried that this is a bad guy? Did he hurt her? Or seem mean?”
“Just the opposite, but that’s not the point, Drew.”
His expression said it might be the point, even if she didn’t agree with it.
“She was mine first.”
“Yes. But the legal agreement between you and the agency—”
“Is binding,” she interrupted. “But what if the adoptive father misrepresented himself? I checked all over the internet and couldn’t find a thing about him, except a divorce record filed two months after the adoption was finalized.”
Drew sat back. “You think he never intended to stay married while they were adopting Addie?”
“That’s exactly what I think. And I think his wife knew that, because she lied about him when I came to Emory. She made excuses for why he wasn’t there, why she was taking care of everything. I didn’t put it together at the time, but looking back I see the pattern. I know I signed away my rights to my daughter, and I did that willingly, to give her a fresh start. But if the O’Neills were acting out a role so that Ginger could have a child, even though she knew her husband wasn’t interested in having a child, that’s fraud.”
“It could be. But this isn’t exactly my expert
ise, Josie. Cruz is more schooled in law than I am, and he’d know who to contact.”
“I agree. But what I need from you is more immediate while I check out the legal sides of all of this. I need you to check up on Jacob Weatherly. I know his sister lied to me. He seems nice on the surface, and he was sweet to Addie, but I’m done taking chances, Drew. I’ve been living a lie for seven years, trying to protect her—”
“And yourself, maybe?”
She couldn’t deny it. “That, too, but mostly I wanted a solid life for her. I did all the right things, Drew, and it still came out all wrong. Now we need to fix it.” She didn’t have to read his expression to know it wasn’t that easy. “I don’t know how we can make this right, but the first thing we need to do is to run a check on this new adoptive father. Can you do that for me?”
“I’ve got a few connections.” Drew stood. “I’ll take care of it. But Josie, when are you going to tell the family what happened? When will you open up to them?”
“I don’t know.” She bit her lower lip and shook her head. “I guess I’ll have to, won’t I?”
“Yes.”
“I need time.” She spoke softly. “I’ve spent all these years keeping this secret, a little more time can’t hurt. But I can’t rest easy until I know she’s in good hands for the time being.”
“Consider it done. And then?”
And then...she had no idea, but the thought that a married couple would pretend to be happy to gain a child, and then split up once they had her...
She felt deceived, and she was pretty sure they’d deceived the adoption agency, too, which meant the agency had a stake in this convoluted situation. But Addie came first. She walked Drew to the door. “I don’t know what will happen next. I can’t leave it like this, with all these loose ends. I wanted Addie’s childhood to be wonderful. If I’d known that Ginger would be raising her alone, I’d have picked another couple. The agency had a whole book of them. It’s not because I’m controlling, but it was the most important decision I’ve ever had to make. If they misrepresented their marriage, that’s a huge thing.”
He hugged her.
The embrace felt good. She was relieved to have finally told someone the truth. When he released her, he stepped back and pointed north, toward the village of Grace Haven. “You need to tell them. All of them. I won’t say a word, but once Cruz gets someone to check out the legal end of things, word could spread, and you don’t want your mother or the rest of the family finding out accidentally. Gossip spreads fast in small towns.”
It did. “I’ll figure it out. And I won’t wait too long. I have to get used to the idea first. You probably think I was pretty stupid back then. Don’t you?”
He shook his head instantly. “You did nothing wrong. You feel stupid because you trusted the wrong person, but that doesn’t make you stupid, Josie. It makes him a criminal.” His quick rebuttal and strong voice lent strength to his reply. “I’d like to get my hands on him and let him know that defending a woman’s honor hasn’t gone out of style.”
His words bolstered her. Tears smarted her eyes again, because the thought of someone sticking up for her seemed wonderful, but shamed her, too. Her family probably would have reacted like this. Just like this. And she hadn’t given them the chance. If she had—
“Stop second-guessing yourself, and I’ll let you know what I find,” he ordered. “And get hold of Cruz quickly. We need to know where we stand legally. He’ll know who to contact about that. If the original adoption was fraudulent, that could negate any subsequent court rulings because they rested on the assumption that the initial adoption was legitimate.”
She hated the thought of Addie being bound up in legal proceedings, but she couldn’t think only of that. She had to think of what had happened in the past, and how that had affected a child’s life. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” She started to step back, but Drew put his hands on her shoulders and held her attention.
“I’m glad you finally told someone. There’s a reason the Bible says the truth shall set you free. Because it’s true.”
The Bible spoke of truth often. The good book was a champion of honesty and integrity and sacrifice, all the reasons she’d sought a solid, happy couple to raise her child because she didn’t want Addie fettered with a dark beginning. From what she could see now, the adoption had thrust Addie into a different dark beginning, and that wasn’t fair to the child or the birth mother. One way or another, she needed to fix it.
Chapter Three
Jacob pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Bayou Barbecue and thought hard before going in. Neutral ground would have been a smarter choice, considering Carrington’s winning stance. Agreeing to this breakfast meeting might have been a mistake. He could easily take Addie into the Grace Haven Diner for French toast, forget about breakfast with Josie Gallagher and reschedule their meeting. He was about to do that when she stepped outside the restaurant door.
“Hi!” Addie yelled the greeting with bright enthusiasm before he made good on his escape plan. She set her picture book aside and unlatched her shoulder strap quickly. In a flash she was out the door. “I’m so glad we’re here, I love French toast with syrup, and with powdery sugar, and with fruit and with, oh...” She beamed up at the woman with shining eyes, as if she’d just spotted a long-lost friend. “I like your pretty brown hair.”
Josie Gallagher bent low and smiled right at Addie, the way someone did when they were good with kids. “You want the truth?”
Addie nodded, still excited. “Yes!”
“I always wanted coppery hair, just like yours.”
“No!” Addie put her hands on her hips and offered the Gallagher woman a look of total surprise. “Are you kidding me?”
Josie shook her head, smiling. “Not even a little bit.”
“Because I was just telling my dad that I wanted a dolly or maybe even two dollies with dark hair like yours. All my dolls have this color.” She pulled a strand of hair to the right and sighed. “I want some dolls with different hair. Like yours. Or maybe Dad’s hair.”
“Brown with gray accents?” He laughed as he drew closer. “That would be a strange mix for a baby doll, wouldn’t it?”
“Not the gray, silly, and I think your hair is perfect, Dad. Just like you.”
His heart melted. He could be tough as needed, and if he thought she was simply buttering him up for a new toy or adventure, he wasn’t afraid to say no. He’d learned by watching his overly indulged sister that life should be lived with some limits, even if the requests were affordable. But Addie wasn’t pulling a con job on him. She loved him, and that had to be the best feeling of all. “Well, thank you. I think you’re pretty spectacular too, kid.” He lifted a small binder into the air. “I brought some ideas, Miss Gallagher.”
“Josie, please.”
He hesitated and briefly wasn’t sure why, but then it clicked. She’d been ready to give him the heave-ho yesterday, less than twenty-four hours ago. Had she undergone a change of heart? Or was there another reason behind her friendlier gestures? And if so, what was it?
He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to be rude. “And I’m Jacob.” He reached out a hand. “Maybe it would be good if we started all over again. What do you say?”
She took his hand and looked right at him. “I think that’s a good idea. Nice to meet you, Jacob.”
“You guys are silly!” Addie planted her hands on her hips again, a newly acquired habit from one of her favorite TV shows. “You already met yesterday. Me, too!”
“So we did.” Jacob ruffled her hair with his hand. “But sometimes grown-ups need a do-over. Just like kids do.”
“Like me and Cayden at school. Except he’s not very nice, and I might not give him any more do-overs. Because he should be nice, shouldn’t he, Dad?”
“Yes. But it is good to give people another chance,” he added. �
��Although I’m not sure how many is too many in preschool.”
“I’m in kindergarten, Dad. Kindergarten is not preschool!”
He grimaced. “My bad.” He faced Josie. “She’s been going to the Lakeside Academy, where they move from preschool to kindergarten before they go to public school. It seemed smart with my job.”
“Except this year, I get to go to regular school and we just have to figure out where.” Addie turned earnest eyes his way. “And get a cow.”
“We’re not getting a cow, Addie-cakes. It won’t fit in the car. Or the apartment.” He grinned to show her he was kidding, but Addie had grown very serious about two things: school and settling down with a cow.
“When we get a big yard, a cow will fit.” She didn’t sass him. She didn’t act petulant. She uttered the sentence with a quiet common sense far beyond her years, and then she grabbed his hand. At that moment, her stomach gurgled and she laughed. “My tummy is so hungry now! Miss Josie, can I see your restaurant? How come there aren’t any people here? Did they all go home?”
Her innocent question made Jacob’s stomach lurch. He and Carrington Hotels were the reason her place was closed. He waited for her to throw him under the bus, but Josie surprised him.
“We’re moving my restaurant to another spot, and I need a little time to pack things up. It’s hard to cook and pack at the same time, right?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Addie lifted an empathetic look to Josie. “My dad is making you move.”
He started to protest, but Josie beat him to it. She bent low. “Well, he works for a company that needs more space. So the company is taking my space, and giving me money to move somewhere new. That’s why your dad is here, because he’s got some ideas about how to help me.” The quiet and up-front way she handled Addie was somewhat unexpected and allowed him to breathe easier.
“We can eat and talk.” Addie grasped his hand with hers. “Dad always says we should help other people, all the time. I mostly do that, but I don’t like helping Cayden when he’s mean.”
Her Secret Daughter Page 3
